What is beauty? And how does it govern our lives? Is there an “innate” standard for beauty that we’re all born with, or is beauty socialized? In which case, what are the power dynamics that influence our conception of beauty that we perpetuate each time we make a judgment call on what is beautiful and what is not?

Universally beautiful or simply universally white?

Persephone:  I think there is a “beauty standard” globally which is largely based on white beauty. But maybe there’s also an evolutionary element by which we’re programmed to find large eyes, rosebud lips and smooth pale skin most endearing?

River: I grew up drawing. And a classic training area is charcoal portraits of busts. And those busts were of Apollo, Diana and Zeus. So I was convinced beauty = big deep set eyes, long defined jawline, straight tall nose. My perspective wasn’t so much defined by Hollywood stereotypes of beauty as by these classic models, which focused on attributes such as symmetry, and these attributes are historically linked to good health and fertility. Though, now that I think of it, I was obsessed with the double-eyelid, as basically all Asians are.

Joy Kuzma: Our beauty ideals seem suspiciously aligned to our racial hierarchy. And a lot of white people who fit the ideal don’t recognize or acknowledge that a beauty/race hierarchy exists. I’m reminded of this talk by Junot Diaz on De-Colonial love (19:30-end). Here’s a striking quote:

“We are never gonna get anywhere as long as our economies of attraction continue to resemble the economies of attraction of white supremacy.”

Ahalya: I agree. As former Victoria’s Secret Model Cameron Russell explained on TED, it is difficult to unpack a legacy of gender and racial oppression in the beauty industry when she, as a conventionally pretty Caucasian woman, has been one of the biggest beneficiaries of it.

Monica: I remember being in Turkey and our tour guide saying that at the height of the Ottoman Empire the most expensive harem/slave girls were the light-eyed and light-haired girls from the Russian and Slavic areas. Here is an example of a culture admiring blondes/paleness because of the rarity of the look rather than placing it with a people who are dominant.

Jia Jia: Either way, beauty reflects what is considered “valuable” at any point in time, whether it’s because you are powerful, rare, or possessed of whatever other quality that’s sought after.

Is beauty a woman’s friend or foe?

Stephanie: There is still an unhealthy obsession with looks nowadays, especially amongst young girls. Here’s a seriously disturbing article about teenage girls asking people to vote on whether they’re pretty or ugly.

Buffy: I agree this is horrid, but I also think this is nothing new, and I would argue that it stretches back for centuries (quite literally).

In my view these are power games. The success of a woman is still, whether we like it or not, linked to contemporary perceptions of beauty.

In Mary Wollstonecraft’s Vindication of the Rights of Women, written in 1792, she points out similar power games played between women. Wollstonecraft argues that women learn that beauty is the route to power and success, but that this power is exceedingly limited, and effects to lock women inside their bodies, inside the private realm. She argues, in fact, that women are their own prisoners.

“Taught from their infancy that beauty is woman’s sceptre, the mind shapes itself to the body, and roaming round its gilt cage, only seeks to adorn its prison.”

Persephone: While I don’t think that beauty’s a substitute for real power, beauty itself can give a spellbinding form of control. Every pretty girl (and boy) knows they can use their looks to “manipulate” others if they want to; some are comfortable with this manipulation. Others are not. Beauty by itself might work if the beauty is great enough. But beauty and charisma together can work magic.

Ahalya: I agree that beauty can wield power under certain circumstances, but it can also be a disadvantage for professional women in particular.

In male-dominated workplaces, beautiful women can be objectified and taken less seriously. The derogatory term “just a pretty face” comes to mind.

Of course, this could work to one’s advantage if you are able to exceed the lower bar of expectations that is set for you, based on your looks. As Persephone says, beauty and charisma together make a very potent combination. It’s rare, but when someone does embody both attributes, it can break down all sorts of barriers.

Is it wrong to reward beauty?

MQ: The obsession with beauty in people has always made me uncomfortable because of its practical implications.

I think it can be difficult to remind ourselves that beautiful people don’t deserve more in life than non-beautiful people (just like smart people don’t deserve more than non-smart people). 

Of course, beautiful and smart people get everything and that’s how the world works but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t be disturbed by it. 

I was just listening to an episode of Radiolab the other day, and one of the contributors cited a study showing that attractive inmates were much more likely to get parole.

It’s strange because usually when someone tells me a story about how the pretty girl got what she wanted I sigh and shrug, but in this case, it felt so deeply unfair. We are so used to beautiful people receiving advantages because of their beauty that we rarely question it except in extreme cases.

Persephone: I think it’s because we equate beauty with goodness, and therefore we have a sense that the beautiful should be rewarded for their “goodness.”

Jia Jia: Well, that equation’s ridiculous. That said, beauty is like a virtue unto itself. It’s pleasant to behold and isn’t that worth something? After all, it’s part of the reason why we watch a gorgeous dance form like ballet and is certainly all of the reason for why we pay fashion models so much.

Joy Kuzma: Context is key. In certain sectors—like the ones you just mentioned—beauty’s important. It’s part of the experience that people are paying for, and even there it’s problematic when aesthetic criteria go too far. In other cases, it’s simply not relevant. Whether you’re good-looking or not does not affect your ability to be a surgeon for example. We just have to be very aware of the “beauty” filters that we’re applying, and why we’re applying them. Because, more often than not, we’re making snap judgments or reinforcing social hierarchies without even knowing it.

What does beauty mean to you and how do you value it?

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By Ahalya, Buffy, Jia Jia, Joy Kuzma, Monica, MQ, Persephone, and Stephanie
Image of Botticelli’s The Birth of Venus